Murphy NC is the county seat of Cherokee County and is the
westernmost county seat in North Carolina. It is closer to the
capitals of six other states (Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South
Carolina, Kentucky, and West Virginia) than to Raleigh, the capital
of North Carolina, and occupies
a serene corner of the mountains highlighted by hundreds of creeks,
waterfalls and deep lush forests. This delightful mountain city
offers to visitors a
quaint downtown for shopping, an historic courthouse (the Murphy
County Courthouse), a public library and an
historical museum -the
Cherokee County
Historical Museum The "Town of Murphy" was founded in 1835. On this date the
first post office was opened under the name of Huntington, with Col.
H.R.S. Hunter the first Postmaster. Huntington later became Murphy,
named after Archibald D. Murphey, state senator and advocate of
education in Western North Carolina. Later, in 1851 Murphy became
the county seat.
Murphy is also home to an historic movie theater,
the
Henn Theater, built in 1934. This little single screen,
174-seat theater combines modern cinema technology with a classic
setting. Another historic highlight of the village is the
L&N Depot (circa 1887), a remnant of the Southern and Louisville
& Nashville railroad, which ran through Murphy prior to 1974. The
Murphy Pyramid (circa 1930) is also of interest, and is a wooden
pyramid erected by Hitchcock Coit in honor of her grandfather, ARS
Hunter, who was the first white settler in the area.West
of Murphy are the beautiful and pristine
Hiwassee Lake and Apalachia
Reservoir, both deep, cool-water lakes that were created by building
dams on the Hiwassee River for the generation of hydropower
during World War II. Today, these TVA lakes, surrounded by the
Nantahala National Forest also provide wonderful recreational areas for
fishing, boating, canoeing, hiking and camping.
Easy access for boaters and kayakers can be found at the Hanging Dog
Recreation Area in Murphy, which has a boat launching
ramp.
Cherokee County has several unique communities
sprinkled throughout its mountains and valleys, the best known is the nearby crafts-oriented community of Brasstown
which is home to the famous
John C. Campbell Folk School.